English: building of faculty of sicence in bilkent university, the first pirvate university in in turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote address at TEPAV about the Development of an Entrepreneurship. I spoke about how universities can be the hubs of development in entrepreneurship ecosystems, but they need to do so intentionally, building on the capabilities and expertise of the school. A focused approach, building off the capabilities and expertise of the school, whether it is in agriculture, technology, health care or retail is the first step. I talked about three key elements:

People- the leadership, faculty and staff of a university. The people need to be aligned around a university mission that is clear on its entrepreneurial focus.

Programs- the curricular and co-curricular programs of the school. Not only does the curriculum need to include entrepreneurial classes, but also faculty need to be trained in the pedagogies appropriate for teaching creative and predictive approaches for entrepreneurship.

Partnerships-business, government and organizational partnerships for the school. Schools need to have partnerships with local businesses, alums and especially angel groups which can provide an environment for learning, and also real-world connections for student ventures.

Further, I talked about how the approach to developing an entrepreneurship education ecosystem must intentionally be diverse, in particular, including women.

After spending an intense two days meeting entrepreneurs, policymakers, and educators, I was very energized about the potential for Turkey to expand its entrepreneurship activities. My prediction is that it will succeed. Why is Turkey poised for development of an entrepreneurship education ecosystem?

I learned about three main factors: a very young population, policy support, and university education in entrepreneurship. US Ambassador Ricciardone highlighted the fact that Turkey has a very young population- with a significant proportion being below the age of 35 years of age. Further, this group is tech savvy and well educated which enhances the country’s assets. Besides the young population, there is significant policy support for entrepreneurs, in the form of government grants which provide start-up capital to entrepreneurs, as well as sponsorship of events and partnership with universities for various programs, including start-up weekends and incubators which are emerging around Ankara and Istanbul. Then there is university education, where courses on entrepreneurship are offered, and opportunities for students to develop and commercialize technology are emerging.

These factors have resulted in an increase in Turkey’s entrepreneurship rate. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that Turkey’s entrepreneurship start up rate is slightly above average for most innovation economies, like the United States, at 11.9% overall, but efficiency driven economies. But importantly, according to the GEM report for Turkey, the rate of nascent entrepreneurship has risen from 2008 to 2010 from 6% to 8% and to 11% in 2011.

However, despite the general interest and support for entrepreneurship, Turkey there are still significant challenges for women entrepreneurs. Like most countries around the world, the rate of women’s start-up lags that of men significantly, with 2.5 men starting a business for every one woman.

Minister of Family and Social Policy, Fatma Sahin, spoke about the tremendous opportunities for women to contribute to the entrepreneurship education ecosystem. Minister Sahin noted that the competitiveness of Turkey in the global economy rests in part on the skills of women and that that there is a need for women to develop their entrepreneurial skills through business training. However, before women can contribute fully to the economy, there must be a change in child care support, because without this, women will not have the flexibility to launch and grow their ventures.

I was struck by the positive attitude of both men and women entrepreneurs who have founded technology companies and enthusiastically plan to grow their businesses. As Minister Sahin noted, women’s entrepreneurship is part of the big picture. For a country have a dynamic entrepreneurship entrepreneurial ecosystem it must be intentional about its strategy to develop women entrepreneurs.

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